THIS is great....

I totally stole this from a blog today, you can go read it there if you want to, so I don't feel quite so guilty for stealin' it ... but it is a good one! For all the moms, sisters, wives, daughters, neighbors and women out there... and prob a few men too!!!!!
XO Darla!



http://doesthisblogmakeuslookfat.com/2010/07/28/letter-to-the-family-diet-saboteur-reader-favorite/



Letter to the Family Diet Saboteur (Reader Favorite)

Dear (beloved husband/significant other/co-parent/lovely wife/offspring),

You may have noticed that my (butt/gut/thighs) (have/has) spread in the last few (decades/9 months/weeks/holidays) and is now (wider than our love seat/lookin’ like a pony keg/preventing me from wearing corduroy as friction may ignite a thigh fire).

I am trying to (lose a few pounds/shrink the muffin top/fit into my old football jersey/see my toes/be able to go upstairs without requiring oxygen). I have decided to (count calories/reduce carbohydrates/switch to light beer/move around more). You may notice strange things in the crisper next to the bacon, they’re called vegetables.

I will do this with or without your support but seeing as I (let you get the big screen t.v./tolerate your mother/never missed Muffins w/Mom/never missed Dough-nuts with Dads) would appreciate you respect my choices. Please don’t (offer me seconds/leave leftover pizza/order an extra french fry). When you say (but it’s a birthday party/it’s only one/you deserve a treat/keep baking yummy cookies) I know you’re trying to be nice but it does not help me. When I talk about my eating plan and you (roll your eyes/snort/laugh about it with your mother) it makes me feel (angry/sad/lonely/a teensy bit murdery).

Because I know you love me and want me around to (wash the socks/mow the lawn/drive you places/destroy you when we play Jeopardy) for years to come. Here are a few ways you can (help/stay out of my way). The proper way to ask me about my progress is to say how was your weigh in NOT did you lose anything? If I say (good/fine/horrifying) this means I’ve (not lost/gained/want to beat someone up) and you should just (give me a hug/suggest we take a walk together/shut up). If I say I lost weight you can say (you look so great/way to go/I still don’t think you need to lose an ounce). I may or may not share how much I’ve lost or gained.

If I have inspired you to (get off your butt/eat a carrot/buy me something nice) great! But if you continue to (laugh at me/push food on me/load the dishwasher like a psychopath) I will file it away on the list I keep in my head. If you are supportive it will also be duly noted.

And keep in mind I (love you just the way you are/support your choices/think you’re the bees knees/know you let me win at Jeopardy) and that taking care of my health means I can better take care of you. If you disregard this letter I have no choice but to invite MY mother to come live with us.

Love,

The Nurturing Dieter
(uh, that's ME- Darla)

new dress

getting this dress
in black
for Megan's wedding -
thinking
of wearing silver
everything
with it -shoes,
jewelry, etc?
we will see but
I LOVE the dress!

Air Show 2010

I LOVED how the main 4
stayed in formations thru most
of the show and then the other
two would swoop out of no
where behind you and the sound
would follow 3 sec later and
IT SCARED ME almost
every single time!!!!!































I had the bestest time at the air show - we went BOTH
days and I was amazed at how interesting I found it

I wasn't too over the top about some of it but the
blue angels were SERIOUSLY just so cool


Anyway, we spent most of the day Sat at the soccer fields
watching, including a walk to Reeds and back with Chris
and then part of the afternoon Sunday watching too...







ONE...








TWO...









THREE...









FOUR...








FIVE...








and - SIX...





I took hundreds of photos but these are just a few... my
fave is that on the 2nd day I got ALL 6 of them landing
one after another and got each one individually... pretty
cool stuff

moving mess - my "before" photos for the scrappy retreat

YIKES!!!!!!!!! This is a "master disaster!"














So, for the scrappy retreat in Oct with the girls, we have
a challenge to do a before/after shot of our scrapbook area
and to tidy up our mess... this is my "BEFORE" shots - bc
my after are coming in a couple weeks. LOL For real! My sb
area is basically a mess for two reasons:
1: My children are being crafty this summer
and
2: I scavengered through my stuff for our yard sale and left
a huge mess! LOL
Now I am packing up to move and soon you'll get to see my
"AFTER" shots as well....

borrowing some art

LOVE Donna Downey.
She is creative and funny
and witty and smart.
Most of all, she is heartfelt.I am 'borrowing' some of her
scrappy art from her blog
and I hope it is an ok thing to do.
Cuz she inspires me and
makes me feel like I can do
things I think I can't do!
She makes me feel like a supergirl
inside when I see her posts and
her art.
http://donnadowney.typepad.com/
Check her out!!




TRUST
I am learning to trust myself.
Trust my strengths-
Trust my judgement.
I am learning to grow outside
of the quiet people pleasing girl that I am.
I am
ok with trust - just takes a lot of work!



WONDER
I wonder what more I can do.
I have achieved a lot in my life, but I know there is more.
I wonder where I'll be in a few more years.
I wonder who I will become.
I wonder if I'll keep
on my fitness trek and become stronger and brighter
or will I fall back into my old self?
I wonder where my kids will be as adults.
I wonder about Ed and I as
we grow older.
I wonder about friends and family that I love.
Always good to have wonder in my mind... keeps me optimistic!




STRENGTH
I am NOT a strong person. Never have been, never will be.
Nor, do I want to be! Sounds obsurd? Yes!
I like to be taken care of and babied a bit.
I like to leave big decisions up to others.
I don't like weight on my shoulders... I am strong in a lot of
other ways but in being a strong person in general, nope, not me!



JOURNEY
FREAK I LOVE THE JOURNEY I AM ON RIGHT NOW!Kids, job, home, family, work, health and fitness - so much
to focus on and have fun with!
So much to learn from!
So much to do!
I hope this journey continues on for a long long long time!
YES, I have had struggles (so many) through the past few months
but the JOURNEY takes me to where I am now, the path I am on
is a good one. Learning, growing, and getting stronger (I need
to learn more strength remember?!) and I love this journey!




GRADITUDE
Blessed beyond measure. God has given me so much, my husband gives
me so much, my kids, my sisters, my friends, my family, they all
pour the best of the best in my direction - sometimes I deserve it
and more often I don't. However, I feel very grateful for my
blessings and have a heart and mind FULL of gratitude for the
wonderful people and things in my life. God *IS* good!


Do you not just LOVE this artwork???????
OMGosh it is amazing!
Bright, fun, creative, and full of meaning!

WARM AND SUNNY!

LOVE LOVE LOVE the sunshine we are getting
WISH WISH WISH we were at the beach again

*sigh*

or... the cabin 4wheelin'?

quote of the day

applies to a lot of things in my life
right now but whatever, I love this one,
it's from my runners training journal :


"DON'T QUIT, DAMMIT!!" - Marty Liquori

ripped DAY 3 and going....

P90X DAY 3

-SHOULDERS and ARMS

and ...

- AB RIPPER

You read that right:
AB RIPPER
oye oye oye...




**********************************
Shoulders and arms was good, felt good
did well. Completed the whole hour of it
and felt positive. Skipped the cool down
and went into the AB RIPPER bonus cd
15 min of pure hell!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am ripped danggit - to shreds!
My gutt never hurt so bad in my life.
(ok, maybe after having a c-section?)
Not to mention my lower back and neck too -
I had to sub A LOT of crunches in there for the mass
number of moves I COULD NOT do at all :O(

ripped or ripped up?

Went for a 5 mile walk/jog with Lisa, Dani and Jeff yest
afternoon in the heat of the day - OMGosh!!!! It was
hard to even walk at first but then once I got stretched
out and warmed up (understatement it was 85 degrees!)
I really felt good. I jogged a few bits all together about
.75 to 1 mile but not shabby. I couldn't believe I even
went honestly. LOL

I AM feeling really good about all this though -
feeling more belief in myself of what I CAN do.
I feel more positive about what I have done the past
few years in my health and know that this will be slow
but positive progress. I will never have abs of steel.
I won't wear a cutsie lil' bikini (nor do I want to)
and I prob won't ever be hosting a home workout video
program BUT I will keep with this and make improvements
to myself physically and mentally!

on another note -
-working at getting house ready to move
-enjoying this beautiful summer sunshine
-spending tons of time with my kids and family
-getting ready for Megan's wedding SOON
-talking to friends that I have missed so much a little
-working on some home decor planning ideas
-and even feeling a little crafty/scrappy too

So, keeping a balance of everything. It's good.

day 2

PAIN oh the PAIN - of the goo
legs hurt
abs hurt
butt hurts
and feeling nausea at 7:22a.m.
ugh
today was just cardio but we repeated
a lot of yesterdays stuff too
he told us to move our 'goo'????????I have a LOT of goo to move -
lol
headed for a long long hot hot tub

ouch

I started my p90x training today
ouch
we did squat and lunges
ouch
we did pushups and planks
ouch
we did jumps and jogs and stretches
ouch/ahhhh
we started with a 2.5 mi walk
then dove in head first and
yes, I almost puked
cool egh?
I ALMOST PUKED!
That is pretty awesome workout.
My lower abs are sore and my
inner/front thighs are really feeling
tight so by tonight I'll be crawling
around in misery for sure! LOLOL
BUT - I did it and hey, I can keep going!
Tommorrow is CARDIO p90x style! SCARY!

sunday

what a day

got in a nice 3.25 mi run/walk with my sis Lisa
this morning - SO freakin' awesome! we ran almost
1/2 of it and it felt SO good - I am "on like
donkey kong" as she would say....Also starting the
p90x tommorrow with the neighbor ladies and am freaking
out a little!

got a bit of scrappy play time with Robin this a.m.
too - we whipped out 10 thank you cards for my
upcoming move cuz' I am antipating telling lots of
people THANK YOU for all their help (right?)

got a boat load of laundry folded and ready to hang
up and/or iron and put away (like 6 loads!!!!!)

tidy'd up the kitchen a bit

hauled the *&^%$# stinking shed the landlord has
had sitting out back for 2 years to the front
for pick up - THERE WAS A MOUSE UNDER IT!! along
with oodles of spiders, worms and other gross things.

looked at a ton of vaca pix to order online for
scrappies

ran to WallyWorld, picked up Micheal Man from my
sisters where he spent the night

AND

started a new pot of coffee --mmmmmmmm
and here I am. I have a ton more to do
but I feel fairly accomplished thus far!

still need to cook / serve dinner --
mow the back lawn -- finish up hte laundry --
and 101 other things. I need 26 hrs a day
instead of 24!!

...another great quote!

‎"Sometimes you have to be a part
from people you love,
but
that doesn't make you love them any less.
Sometimes you love them more."

-Nicholas Sparks


(miss these guys a bunch!)

GOOD Quote!

Just read this on my neice Madison's FB profile and
I LOVED it!

****************************************************

I believe everything happens for a reason.
People change so you can learn how to let go.
Things go wrong,
so that you appreciate them when theyre right.
And sometimes good things fall apart
so
better things can fall together

*****************************************************

A VERY special visit from ....

Uncle Harry!!!!!!
Ed's Uncle made a quick thru visit from Boise
on his way up to Yellowstone to see their
daughter Carissa - we were lucky enough to
get him to stop for an overnighter and dinner
with us!
SUCH a great visit - enjoyed every last second!
Micheal especially loves Uncle Harry and was
totally fascinated with his motorcycle
WITH A TRAILER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
We stayed up to the wee wee weeee hours
visiting and sharing stories and enjoying
one another's company - such a great visit!
I hope he swings this way again sometime SOON!
(and maybe brings Mary with him too???)







WE LOVE YOU UNCLE HARRY! Hope you had a great trip!

A 'bit' of the 4th of July for your enjoyment!

Odessa, Josh and Briona came for the 4th with us-
this is how it went...
late late late night on the 2nd - too late
for most of us... then
a.m. parade - brr cold then steamin HOT
afternoon lazies, sandwiches and chillin'
at home
p.m. big ol chef/ceasar salad for dinner
a bit tooo much red/white/blue hair color
and then off to the fireworks at the school
for a huge show
home again, strawberry shortcake ala' Dani
and Bri
and our own fireworks show out front....
this was all on the 3rd of July -
then we went out in the p.m. on the 4th and
did more fireworks out front again!

"in attendance"
Ed, Darla, Liz,
Chris, Dani, Tiff and Micheal
Odessa, Josh and Bri and of
course Tina pup and Mochi pup!

Ed's Birthday THE BIG 41!

No big party this year, I gave it my all last year for the
milestone #40.











I took him out to dinner at Famous Daves
(not recommended)
and he chose cupcakes and ice cream sherbert
cups for his celebration with the kids?!
OK whatever... goofy OLD man!
So, here ya go a few pix of the
big birthday "bash".....

changes and answers

lots of changes going on
finally getting some answers
some good and some great and
some require more change but
all in all
lots of changes
lots of answers

My husband loves me.

...enough said?

IT IS OURS!

Here is few photos of *OUR* new home...
of course, it is not with our furniture in it yet,
but it gives an idea of what we have coming!
I CANNOT WAIT TO LIVE IN OUR OWN HOME!!!!!!!!!





The street view of the house! Very "Brady" looking don't you think?



The entry as you walk in, and to the right and down a step is the livingroom.



Then there is the diningroom which has sliding doors that open up to the
back deck/yard area.



Then the family room that is down a level with spindels
that seperate it from the dining/kitchen area - love it!


This is the awesome and BIG kitchen painted in the prettiest
sage green color - LOVE that and will use it to my decorating
advantage for sure!



And last but not least the livingroom which is in the front
of the house and will be the quiet piano/relaxing room...







This is such a huge step in our lives - I am so thankful and feel
so blessed - I cannot wait for Aug to roll around!!!!!

DarlaLOU

Home SWEET Home

AT LAST! HOME SWEET HOME - forever!!!!!!!
We got the house! Officially moving the first
part of August and I cannot be happier.

OUR HOME - OURS - forever and ever and as long as we want to stay!

We have moved XX times over the years... let me recount:
Boise trailer
Boise Pendelton basement
Boise Pendelton upstairs
New Plymouth with Mom and Dad
Boise Lorinda
Boise on Linda Vista
Idaho Falls 18th St
Idaho Falls Ridge
Idaho Falls Alice
Idaho Falls Calkins
Idaho Falls Ada
Idaho Falls I St
Idaho Falls Dickson Cir
Idaho Falls Simon
and finally....
Idaho Falls Dickson St

all this in 20 years. WOW!
I am ready.... ohhhhh so ready, to stay PUT!